Toy vehicle formed from carton



July 12, 1955 T. J. LEYDEN 2,712,711

TOY VEHICLE FORMED FROM CARTON Filed Dec. 10, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. .772 eoaaretll qyde 7?,

y 1955 T. J. LEYDEN TOY VEHICLE FORMED FROM CARTON 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 10, 1951 SANTA FE III I: :1 1:] I:

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eydeh BY Patented July 12, 1955 2,712,711 TGY VEHICLE FQRMED FRQM CARTON Theodore J. Leyden, Marshali, Mich. Applicaion Becember 1% 1951, Serial No. 269,820 2 Claims. (Ci. 46213) This invention relates broadly to cartons such as are used in the sale and distribution of cereals and other similar articles of wood, and in its more specific phases to a carton having indicia shown thereon for the formation of a toy, or in other words a toy-forming carton.

Toys made directly from a sheet of paper or cardboard on which their outlines are printed ready to be cut out, bent to shape and then glued in final form by the user, are in common use. In some cases the purchasable blank, from which the toy is to be made, merely needs folding all in place, and indicating, for instance, a wild animal in a circus cage. For advertising purposes in the selling of goods packaged in cardboard containers it has been proposed to make the container in the form of can or box with removable cover for ingress into same and with that container having printed indicia along as from an ordinary printed sheet. Those various carton constructions thus have, generally speaking, been in the form of a. carton merely printed with parts to be cut out to form a toy the same as from a printed sheet, or have beer in the form of a carton ready or substantially ready for use as a toy, or in the form of a blank adapted to be folded like a box to form the finished toy. The problem of how to use a singlepiece conventional carton as a product container and later as a toy by using a portion of same as a completed sub-assembly, with other parts to be cut out of the carton and attached to the sub-assembly to form the finished product, all at substantially little if any extra cost to the carton user, has not been recognized or used by those utilizing cartons to package their goods, in spite of the advantages of such packaging. It was a recognition of this situation and the lack of an adequate solution to same which lead to the conception and development of the present invention.

Accordingly among the objects of the present invention is the provision of a novel combined carton and toy wherein one portion of the carton may be detached from the remainder to form a sub-assembly having the sides, ends, and roof of a railroad car, or the like.

Another important object of the invention is to provide such a carton with cut out indicia so that when portions are cut along the indicia they may be assembled with the body portion of a railroad car, or the like, described in the preceding paragraph.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a carton with portions to be cut out and form the trucks of a railroad car.

A still further object of the invention is to provide the carton wi h means for supporting a wire axle and freely revolving carrying wheels.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a carton in the form of a parallelepiped, certain of the six sides of which are provided wi h readily removable portions, with such portions, when assembled, forming a toy resembling a railroad car.

A further object is to provide a carton with indicia and weakened lines and fold lines all of which are easily taken care of when the carton blank is formed and printed, and wherein the assembly of the toy covered by the indicia is facilitated due to part of carton forming a completed sub-assembly to which other indicia removed from the carton can be readily joined to form a fairly substantial toy.

Still further objects and advantages of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention, then, consists of the toy-forming carton means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the annexed drawings and the following description setting forth in etail certain means for carrying out the invention, such disclosed means illustrating but several of various ways in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In the annexed drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevation of one side of a carton constructed in accordance with this invention and provided with certain removable parts.

Figure 2 is an elevation of another side of such a carton also provided with removable parts.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a toy made from the carton of Figures 1 and 2, and being shown in inverted position.

Figure 4 is a side Figure 5 is a face having a modified parts.

Fi ure 6 is a modified fragmentary section through the toy, showing the arrangement for a wire axle.

Figure 7 is a pore ective View of a metallic truck memher for supporting the wire axle.

Figure 8 is a detailed perspective showing a coupling device as formed from one of the detachable parts of Figure 2.

In the form of the invention shown in Figure l, the carton is illustrated as having a bottom wall 10, this bottom well being also illustrated in several of the other figures. In the form shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, there extends upwardly from the bottom wall 10 a series of side walls 11, and spaced from the bottom wall it is a weakened or perforated line 12, which extends all the way around the carton. This weakened line 12 has on each wider face of the carton a portion 13 offset towards the bottom wall it On the side of the carton shown in Figure 2 there is a single ofiset portion 14. The nature and purposes of these offset portions 13 and 14 will be presently made clear.

After the contents of the carton have been removed, the bottom it) with the lower portions of the side walls 11 is removed by severing on the weakened lines 12, 13, and 14, thus leaving a structure, such as is shown in Figure 3, presenting the sides and ends to form in upsidedown representation, a toy railroad car body.

I Extending upwardly from the center of one of the side panels of t e carton, as shown in Figure 1, are weakened or perforated lines 15 which have laterally extending elevation of the completed toy. or side view of one side of the carton arrangement of readily detachable vlug portions 15 of same adjacent each end. Also at each end of the part of the carton side portion defined by the lines 15 and id, the weakened line 12 provides for the separation of this part from the lower part of the carton. There is further provided a weakened line 17 from the ends of which extend parallel weakened lines 18 so that there is provided a pair of lugs 19. At the top of the carton a similar arrange- -ment of weakened lines 20 is provided to form a pair of lugs 21 similar to the lugs 19. It is further to be'noted y will form the lower parts formed truck body 50 is glued or otherwise suitably se-.

bar 32 having an opening that midway of the length of this portion of the structure the line is offset outwardly as at 22, the portion 22 being aligned with the sidewise projecting end portions of the lines 16. In addition to the severing lines each of the lugs formed on the body of this part of the carton is provided with a fold line 23.

When this part of the carton has been detached from the remainder of the side lugs are turned at right angles to the plane of the carton side, thus there is formed a car bottom 24 having a series of lugs 25 which fit within the bottom of the car body as shown in Figure 3. It would. of course be observed that the dimensions of this car body bottom are such as to enable the bottom and its lugs to fit within the walls of the car body.

As shown in Figure l at each side of the bottom part 24 of the car body, there is provided a pair of parallel weakened lines 26 having inwardly offset portions 27 adjacent each of the ends of the line 26. At each end of each of these truck forming parts, there are provided weakened lines extending inwardly and then longitudinally as at 27 and from the extremities ofthe continuation of longitudinally extending lines 26 there is an arcuate weakened line 28. When the truck is formed by bending along fold lines 29 provided for the purpose, the arcuate lines of the wheels. The thus cured to the bottom of the car body with the wheels projecting as shown in Figures 3 and 4.

The sides 11 of the carton which form the ends of the toy railroad car are each provided with a weakened U-shaped portion 30, across the arms of which extends a fold line 31. Thus the part defined by the line 30 at each end of the car may be turned about fold line 31 as shown in Figure 3 to project and form a draw 33 for the reception of a coupling link. Also on each side of the carton such as is shown in Figure 2, there is provided a weakened line 34 of such form as to appear as a twin pair of G-links 35 defined from each other by fold line 36. These form a coupling link by folding, as shown in Figure 8, the C-shaped portions on each other and gluing them or otherwise folding and holding them together.

Now with this form of the invention it can be seen that a very simple arrangement of carton sides is employed with a severable car body sub-assembly which, with the other severable parts, are easily assembled and glued to constitute a toy resembling a railroad car. It will also be noted that any desired form of printing may be impressed on the carton such as is shown at 37 in Figure 3 to more vividly cause the appearance of a railroad car, and it is obvious sions may be varied so that a wide range of cars of different appearances, and represented as being the rolling stock of different railroads, may be provided.

In respect to the fold and se ering lines, the form of the invention shown in Figure 5 is identical, in the main, to that previously described. Here the severing line for the sides, and ends, of the car body is shown at 38, andit will be observed that this severing line extends from the bottom 10 to the top of the carton and, as shown, in spaced relation to the right hand side face 11 of this carton. Thus it is a side portion of the carton, instead of the bottom, which forms the main part or toy car body sub-assembly. The floor or bottom panel of this car body, when in finished form, is indicated at 49 and the severing line 41 enables this bottom to be disconnected from the carton side in such manner as to leave tabs 42 bent as in the previous case to have the bottom fit within the lower part of the car body. Also, on this side of the carton are formed the car trucks 43, defined from the rest of the carton by severing lines 44. The ornamental features or design of the car indicated at 45, and it will be observed that'the appearance of such a car body is different from that shown in the first mentioned form.

that these printed impresbody are In the form shown in Figure 6, a metal truck frame is provided. This metal truck frame consists of a strip of suitable metal having the central portion 46 provided with downwardly turned end portions 47 having opposed openings 48 therein. The opposite edges of this metal strip may, in its central portion, be provided with sharp prongs 49 which may be forced through the car bottom and bent to hold the strip firmly in position. A wire axle 52 may be supported in the openings 48 and suitable wood. plastic, fibre, or metal wheels are fixed on the wire axle to revolve therewith and prevent the axle from slipping out of the openings 48. Where these wheels are flanged as shown and mounted on axle 52 at toy railroad track spacing, the car can be operated on that type of track.

With this invention the carton itself, with ample product advertising space, may be used for holding breakfast food and the like, and at the same time, be attractive to young children, who will be induced to eat the food contained in the carton in order to be free to separate the parts of the toy from the rest of the carton and combine them to make the car.

While the invention, as above described, has been referred particularly to a railroad car, yet it will be obvious that other vehicles such as motor trucks, wagons, house trailers, and the like, can be similarly arranged in connection with a carton and it is therefore not desired to limit this invention to the combination of a car simulating a railroad car, but it is wished to include all forms of the invention which may come within the scope claimed.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of those explained, change being made as regards the toy-forming carton means herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

1 therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

l. A wheeled toy comprising a one piece unitary portien of a carton of right parallelepipedal form, each of the sides of said portion having one edge common with a fifth side whereby to constitute an open faced body tructure having a rectangular main wall from the edges or which extend in a common direction the four side walls having their adjacent edges joined together, a generally rectangular member adapted to fit in and close the open face of said structure and form the bottom of the body structure of the toy, downwardly extending flanges on the sides of the rectangular member fitting against the sides of the body structure, cooperating means on the side walls of the body structure and said flanges for joining truck frames having attaching means joining them to said bottom member, each of said truck frames having downturned end portions, an axle member extending between and engaging said end portions, and rotatable wheels mounted on the end portions of said axle mem- 7 her.

2. A toy comprising a simulated railway car body 7 including parallel side walls and end walls at right angles and connected to said side walls, said end walls each having a notch in its lower edge, said side walls each having a pair of notches simulating wheel openings in'its lower edge, a bottom panel inset in said body having drawbar simulating projections extending through the notches of them together, and a pair of separate 7 ment with the inner wheel mounting structures.

Eaton Carley Ridgway Otto Bowman surfaces of said flanges to provide Oct. 9, 1917 Sept. 9, 1924 Mar. 20, 1928 Ian. 15, 1929 Oct. 24, 1933 ,534

6 Stilwell Apr. 28, 1936 Anthony May 25, 1937 Bennard June 8, 1937 New Jan. 31, 1939 Johnson Aug. 5, 1941 Richards Sept. 14, 1943 Midouhas Oct. 16, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Apr. 18, 1922 

